The most recent College Football Playoff set the scene for Conference Championship Weekend, and it marks the end of the non-conference games that were so fun at the start of this season.
The second-to-last College Football Playoff Rankings came out on Tuesday night, and while there is no perfect answer to the seeding, the precedent is being set that the quality of opponent does not matter.
Week one in 2025 was headlined by so many fun non-conference games. No. 3 Ohio State and No. 1 Texas kicked off the action, followed by No. 4 Clemson and No. 9 LSU, No. 6 Alabama and Florida State to be finished by No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami.
There were just a couple of the headliner games that took place early in the season, but as always, hindsight is 20/20. These games were fun for all of college football, but unfortunately, their days are numbered.
The foundation has been laid that will set the precedent for the future of the sport. It is very clear that, as the Playoff Format stands right now, as long as there is a committee voting on these playoff spots, they do not value head-to-head matchups.
The playoff, as it stands right now, is as follows:
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Oregon Ducks
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- BYU Cougars
- Miami Hurricanes
- Texas Longhorns
While I tend to think this ranking is largely correct, it simply does not take into account head-to-head matchups.
For example, Georgia lost to Alabama and has a six-spot lead over the Tide, Notre Dame lost to Miami, and yet, the Irish are still ahead of the Hurricanes. Most egregious, the Texas Longhorns lost to Ohio State in Week 1, but have the strongest winning resume and are on the outside looking in.
What is true, however, is that playing a great non-conference opponent or opponents does not provide any benefits, it simply provides a downside.
Texas is the perfect example of this, and their head coach is responding in kind.
Two of their three losses came from teams in the top-5. A 7 point loss to Ohio State and 25 point loss to Georgia bookend a terrible loss to Florida.
Because the Longhorns have three losses, they are on the outside looking in. If they had just two losses, they would absolutely be in the playoffs. If you disagree, take a look at the 2024 schedule for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Last year set the standard that a bad loss isn't a death wish. The National Champion lost to a .500 team. This has led to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has already threatened to not play Ohio State in Week 1 of 2026.
The fallout to this in year two of the 12-team playoff is certainly going to be a change in the scheduling tactics from schools. The days of top-25 matchups early on in the season are on life support.
If teams don't get credit for putting a tough game on the schedule, then why would they do it? It is absolutely a fair question, and the only people who suffer from it are the fans. We will lose out on the fun early-season matchups.
However, it would make for a more appealing end of season stretch run.
Unfortunately, because this is a subjective ranking, there is absolutely no right answer. This ranking isn't perfect and it probably ins't close. Regardless of what they decide, their decision will influence the future of college football, and the ripple effects on these rankings will change college football significantly.